Year 1499 of the Sea CalendarFirst half of the Grand Line, Red Leaf Island.
The island got its name from its resemblance to a red maple leaf and the abundance of a tree with striking red leaves. The people of Red Leaf Island were simple and honest, and nearly half of them made their living as professional lumberjacks or gardeners tending the red leaf trees. Thanks to the climate, this unique species thrived on the island.
Red leaf trees of a certain age were considered excellent timber for shipbuilding, which is why most of the islanders depended on them for a livelihood.
In a red leaf forest by the shore, a black-haired boy swung an axe with all his might, striking frantically at the thick trunk of a red leaf tree before him. But whether it was his lack of skill or simply bad luck, every swing of the axe missed the same spot.
For a native of Red Leaf Island, it was understood: you might not be good at drinking, boasting, or wielding weapons—but chopping trees? That skill had to be at least masterful.
Wood's current abilities, if witnessed by a native, would likely have been mocked as worse than a child's.
This year, Wood was fifteen, which in this world counted as an adult. Yet his tree-chopping skills were still far below those of ordinary children on the island. But it wasn't his fault. After all, Wood hadn't originally come from this world. Or rather, while his body was truly a Red Leaf Island native, his soul had changed.
"Ding! One thousand tree strikes completed, five red leaf trees felled, evaluation: below average. Task complete. Congratulations! You've earned one opportunity to use the Life Simulator."
That was right. Wood was a transmigrator, and like all transmigrators, he had a "cheat"—a small program game from his previous life called the Life Simulator.
His relentless chopping wasn't to get rich. He wasn't some bumbling bald man being chased by bears in the forest. No—he was doing it entirely because the system had given him a mission.
Task Name: Lumberjack of Red Leaf IslandTask Requirements: Chop one thousand red leaf trees with the specified axe. The more trees felled, the higher the evaluation.Completion Standard: At least a medium evaluation. No time limit.Reward: One chance to run a life simulation.(P.S. Be grateful, rookie. This is a well-known beginner bonus task. Don't expect future missions to be this easy.)
Seeing the task completion notification, Wood finally dropped his axe and let out a long sigh. His tender hands were sore and blistered from prolonged use.
The system kept insisting this task was easy, meant for beginners—but Wood completely disagreed. Heaven knew how many days he'd been chopping trees in this red-leaf forest. From struggling to even hold the axe properly at first, to finally completing the task—it had taken over three months!
In the beginning, his body couldn't even handle a thousand strong swings a day. It took him more than a month just to reach that mark. For the remaining two months, he managed a thousand swings daily—but sometimes didn't cut down a single tree.
Without a medium rating, the task couldn't be considered complete, so Wood had been stuck in the daily grind of endless chopping.
Thanks to the peculiarities of this world—its inhabitants' generally stronger physiques and faster recovery—even when Wood was exhausted, he could fully recover the next day. And with no time limit, the seemingly simple task of chopping trees was, in reality, a near-death ordeal.
Wood had been in this world for over a year, though the system had only activated six months ago. At first, he had no idea what world he had landed in. But the people of Red Leaf Island were simple and honest, and there were no powerful beings—so for a while, Wood believed he had arrived in a peaceful, ordinary world.
Its technology may have lagged far behind his previous world, but the pristine environment and unpolluted air made him feel relaxed.
Just when he thought he could live quietly, relying on his knowledge from a past life, a headline hit the entire sea and disrupted his plans for a peaceful life.
"My treasure? You want it? Take it all—go find it! I've left everything in the world out there."
The newspaper, delivered by the news birds, showed a black-haired man kneeling calmly on an execution platform. The article, which occupied nearly half the paper, announced the end of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, in the year 1498 of the Sea Calendar.
But his last words had stirred the oceans, drawing countless people to the seas and ushering in the so-called Great Pirate Era.
It was this report that finally made Wood realize what kind of world he had entered. This was by no means a peaceful place. And while powerful figures existed, most were concentrated elsewhere—the island he was born on was weak and unprepared.
Roger's demise marked the start of the Great Pirate Era, and only months later, its wave had already reached Red Leaf Island.
The reason was simple: in this era, anyone wanting to sail needed ships. And to build ships, you needed excellent timber. Unfortunately, Red Leaf Island's red trees were among the finest. Under this tide, hordes of pirates had begun swarming the island.
The peaceful residents, accustomed to a quiet life, were powerless against these ruthless marauders. Within a month, three waves of pirates had come, and most of the islanders' best wood was looted.
Wood, however, lacked any real logging skill, so his home remained untouched.
The pirates didn't just steal—they killed on a whim. One day, Wood witnessed a little girl about to die in front of him. Unable to bear it, he secretly stabbed a pirate henchman in the back. That single act finally activated his system.